Janis
Personality Janis Belfaust was raised to have a lust for battle and trained daily in order to mold him into the perfect warrior alongside his brother. Janis was always found to be the better fighter in competition with his brother, and couldn't help but play into the praise his father would shower upon him at the end of the day. During his time with the Clerics of Northshire, Janis studied feverishly the ways of the Holy Light. He didn't want to undo years of training in combat from his father, but he needed to relearn a lot of things to fit with his new perception. Janis would leave the order when his new beliefs didn't quite gel with the priests and paladins of Northshire. His goal was to develop a method of non-violent resistance to any conflict, leaving violence as an absolute last resort to be used. His pressence is so gentle and quiet, that while meditating in the hills of Northshire he attracted many animals who came to rest by his calming side. While he's had little interaction with intelligent life after choosing a life of poverty and peace in Northshire, those who have met him have found themselves incredibly relaxed and comfortable around the accomodating man. While it's too bold to claim he has completely changed anyone's opinions to match his own perfectly, more than a few have left his side with a knew outlook on life. Janis is incredibly kind and generous, taking no reward and turning over material goods he doesn't need to those who could use it. Despite his peaceful attitude, he will immediately turn to violence in order to defend someone in need, if only to immobilize the attacker and prevent them from causing further harm. The peaceful monk is also a big fan of jokes and pranks, finding laughter to be the most powerful source of "Chi." History Early Years Janis was born into the Belfaust family four years before his brother Koval was. The family resided in the kingdom of Gilneas where the men of the family trained daily on the art of combat so they could become better warriors and fight in many great battles. Janis was always found to be the stronger of the two brothers and received praise from his father daily on it, typically leading to his brother finding neglect from his father. Despite Janis being aware of his brother's hurt, he couldn't help but give into the competitive nature influenced by their father's constant training and rewards for the clear "victor." As Janis grew, he was very popular with the women of Gilneas, never finding it difficult to court any woman of his choosing. No relationship was very consistent, purely flings. He also excelled in his studies, which, while always taking a back seat to his training in the ways of a warrior, his father found more reason to praise his son for. At the age of 24, war had come to Azeroth, and Janis was ready to fight. He was wrong. First War While Janis fought bravely during the First War, he could barely handle the constant gore and violence surronding him. The factor that kept him going was the sight of the Clerics of Northshire, who wielded the powerful Holy Light in order to keep the fellow soldiers healed. Still, Janis was devoted to his family, and couldn't bring himself to disapoint his father by stating he wanted to become a priest. While Tyron respected other methods of combat, he believed anyone other than the warriors like himself were inheritly weak. It was his belief that the other classes relied too much on an external power in order to fight, be it magic, the Light, etc., and that if one could remove that source of external power, then the person woudl have no strength. However, during the closing days of the war, Tyron fell in battle. While this affected Koval by motivating him to become a better warrior, this pushed Janis to accept a new perspective, that violence was far too destructive, and should not be practiced - at least not in the way he had been learning to fight. So, when he felt the time was right, he left his family and Gilneas to join the Clerics of Northshire and learn how to help people rather than fight them. Clerics of Northshire Janis was readily welcomed into the order, and immediatly he began his training on becoming a priest. While Janis believed deeply in the healing power of the Holy Light, he did not agree with the methods of using it to inflict pain on enemies. He found this to be a perversion of the existance of the Light and struggled with this fact daily. Eventually, he came to the conclusion that the Light was just another power that could too easily be exploited for violence and personal gain, and that he would need to find a source of power within himself - entirely his own so only he could use it in the way he deemed right. So, though thankful for their help, Janis excused himself from the order and left to live in solitude in the hills of Northshire. Finding the Path of Self Janis believed that the only way to find a source of power that would be derived from within himself, he had to live completely alone, avoid any interaction with people, and become completely self reliant. This would become the first tenant of his new creed, and the first stepping stone on the way towards his own enlightenment. While living in the hills of Northshire, he taught himself how to farm, and created a suitable home within a cave behind a waterfall. He kept his provisions simple and few, trying to avoid anything unnecessary to his survival as he believed now that the material pleasures of the world were just another external, corrupting, force and he had to remain pure in order to complete his goal. For years he would mediate, either by sitting under the waterfall and enduring the cold, cleansing, water or through a manipulation of the warrior forms he had learned from his father. He had turned a means of violence into a means of meditation. Janis managed to keep himself hidden from the rest of the world and its horrors, but animals did manage to find him, and found his new home a relaxing sanctuary. Creatures from squirrels to bears came to his place of rest to rest themselves. Eventually he discovered the power he was seeking for decades: Chi. A power that coursed through him and through all living things, even plants. It was, to him, a connecting force that penetrated all things and connected everything. It could be he merely rediscovered the Light within himself, or the magical properties that flowed from the ley lines of the world and into all things, but Janis believed he had discovered the hidden strength that drives all life. Janis, the Monk Having completed his task, he deemed himself worthy of returning to the civilized world to see the state it was in. While he remained in his secluded cave in Northshire, he no longer feared interaction with other people and soon found himself the host to several visitors. Some came for personal gain, to steal from him, and he put up no resistance so long as they did not bring violence. Bandits soon learned of his pacifist ways and frequented his home to steal crops. Eventually they got tired of him and turned to their bloodlust to get one last thrill out of the old man. He would dispatch them with ease, disabling each by exploiting their weakpoints and exploiting the Chi that ran through them as well. Those that did not die fled and never returned, and those he sadly vanquished were given a proper burial. There were those who brought peace with them when they stumbled upon the lone monk. Most needed only a place to rest for the night, or sanctuary from chasing bandits (who would quickly give up the chase when they saw where their targets had stumbled into). A few became intrigued by Janis's way of life and asked to stay with him and learn his ways. Soon Janis began to teach several people his method of strength through the power of Chi and non-violence. He stressed that the only way to grow was to avoid violence at all cost, as the act of violence itself used up one's own Chi, but it was possible through meditation to regain that power - over time. The Monk Class Overview The monk class is a hero class that is a hybrid between rogues, druids, and priests. They are able to do DPS in the form of melee or ranged magic as well as tank much like a druid does, though agility and very high stamina. Beliefs A monk believes that the Light exists, as evidence has piled up that it is indeed a real thing. However, a monk does not believe that the Light should be used by anyone, and should manifest itself. The monks belief that one's strength should come from inside the self (The Power of Self), which is identified, among the monks, as the energy Chi. The belief is that Chi flows through all living things, and can be increased through meditation or expelled through violence. Because of this, a monk rarely resorts to violence. Particularly adept monks are able to exploit the Chi of their targets, causing considerable mental and physical damage. Other monks can block the flow of Chi in their targets by hitting certain pressure points, restricting the flow of energy in the target and causing quick exhaustion of resources in their body. The monks believe in poverty and peace. Becoming a monk means giving up all worldly posessions as material goods cloud the mind to what is important and only act as manipulators. This falls back on the tenant "The Power of Self." Monks will never be seen in heavy armor and rarely wield weapons. At most a monk will wear leather, but typically they dress in cloth or nothing at all. Their ability to withstand damage with so little protection is through the tenant "Mind Over Matter." Monks are able to ignore a great deal of physical, mental, and magical damage and so cannot be as easily taken down as they may appear. As for weapons, a monk excells more so in using barehanded combat, but realize that heavy armors of today need more power to break. So a monk will often use a staff, fist weapons, or a mace in order to subdue opponents. Weapons are discouraged, but when used should be seen as an extension of the self rather than an object. Monks do not firmly believe in an afterlife. While there is no understanding of a passing of conciousness after death into a new plane of existance, monks belief in the principle that Chi, like matter and energy, cannot be created or destroyed. Therefore, when a living being dies, their Chi is released back into the world to be used to create new life. On that, they believe that collections of Chi are unique to the individual, though it is currently very hard to distinguish Chi between living things unless there is a large gap in complexity (such as humans to plants and dragons to humans). While all Chi flows seemlessly together, collections of it cannot fully intergrate, and so when a person dies, how much Chi they put out into the world is how much will be used to create new life. This belief builds off of the idea that violence and general acts of malice and hate expell Chi while peace, civility, and harmonious acts increase Chi. So, when a person dies, if they had very little Chi because of living a selfish and destructive life, they put out very little Chi and so there's only so much to create something like a plant or critter. On the opposite end, if someone lives a selfless and constructive life, than their Chi level will be much higher when they die and the Chi released will be used to give life to something even greater than they were before. Fighting Styles "Fist" The Fist way of the monk is a monk who trains in being able to deliver powerful and incredibly fast strikes. They meditate by practicing fighting stances. A Fist monk studies the anatomy of all races and animals to learn how Chi flows through them. These monks are able to exploit the various pressure points on the body in order to block the flow of energy throughout the body and exhaust their enemies. Another weakness they often exploit are old wounds. These monks are able to open up fresh and old wounds alike to bleed their enemy. Fist monks focus on exploiting weaknesses but also strengths. A Fist monk can also hit a combination of points on the body to increase the flow of Chi through the body, allowing his/her allies to become stronger and faster. A monk studying in this principle prefers fist weapons to keep their strikes fast and short. "Body" The Body principle focuses on the belief in the power of self, specifically "mind over matter." These monks are incredibly fast and resilient. Body monks meditate by enduring great pain, usually by sitting under waterfalls or standing on hot coals. Because of this, a Body monk has incredible stamina. Also during their training, a Body monk will wear large stones on their body for years, so that when they are removed, they can move much faster than before. These monks are usually the most peaceful branch of monks, as even in combat their way to victory is to allow the opponent to tire him/herself out and collapse on their own. "Chi" The final chapter of monks is the Chi monk. These monks are the most adept at handling not only the Chi in their own body, but in everyone around them. Rather than engaging in conflicts with physical violence, these monks manifest their Chi into the form of physical energy to be released at opponents. Chi monks are able to exhaust so much Chi as because of their affinity for the energy, they can gather up a great deal more than other monks and so have the power in excess. However, this is a very diffiucult method to master, and several monks have gone into comas for exerting too much of their own energy. To help deal with this, Chi monks also work on exploiting the Chi in others by pulling the energy out or exploding it from within, causing intense physical pain. Balancing this path is difficult, and rarely taught as in the wrong hands a monk could cause considerable damage that may not be able to be repaired. Chi monks meditate by being in nature as much as possible, and trying to attune themselves to all life in order to strengthen their own Chi and learn the Chi of those around them. OoC Info The monk hero class employs the use of staves, 1H maces, and fist weapons. At level 10, a monk learns how to dual wield. The Fist tree has bonuses for those who use fist weapons exclusively. The Body tree allows the monk to use 2H maces. The Chi tree has a talent that converts intellect on armor into Spirit, a stat which increases their Chi regeneration and spell damage. Monks have no ranged weapon ability and so use a Sigil slot like paladins, death knights, and shamans. The monk starts off being only able to wear cloth armor. Since all cloth existing in the game is meant for casters only, the monk class has a passive talent that converts Intellect into Agility. For Chi monks, this talent is replaced with the one that turns intellect into more spirit. At level 40 a monk can learn to wear leather armor. This is when most Body monks can really begin to tank at their full potential by being able to wear leather armor typically reserved for druid tanks. Monks use the resource Chi. A monk will begin with 5 points of Chi. Basic abilities will generate 1-2 Chi, whereas stronger attacks use up Chi. Chi replenishes slowly over time through the Spirit stat. Some abilities require at least 1 Chi but use up as many as the monk has to increase their damage or effects. These act in the same way as finishing moves. To keep them from being used at the start of combat, they are weaker when used on mobs with 70% or more health. The Fist tree focuses on melee DPS, and gives bonuses to agility, haste, melee damage, critical strike rating, bleed effects, and threat reduction. The Body tree focuses on tanking, and gives bonuses to armor, stamina, agility, and resistances. The Chi tree focuses on spell DPS, and gives bonuses to spirit, spell haste, Chi generation, and grants two extra points of Chi for the monk to use. ((More to come. If you have any suggestions, please let me know on Janis's talk page. And if you'd like your character to be a monk, awesome!)) Category:Human Category:Alliance Category:Monk